World Cup Qualifiers: Republic of Ireland vs. Portugal Preview, Odds, Prediction

Portugal travels to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland in one of the most important matches in their World Cup qualifiers. Selecao needs three points to preserve the advantage in the standings over their biggest rivals, Serbia, and stay on top of Group A. Meanwhile, the Irish team already lost all chances to reach Qatar, but they aren’t going to lay down the weapons before Ronaldo and the company. We’ve seen them snapping one point from Serbia, creating one hell of trouble back in Lisboa, and be sure that this unit won’t back down tonight as well.

Preview

Republic of Ireland (+980) had a disappointing campaign in the qualifiers, going beneath the worst expectations. A few years ago this nation had a competitive team that was creating trouble for any team in Europe, but now, it seems that the Irish national football has entered a turbulent period.

Though Ireland didn’t lose in the past three World Cup qualifying games, getting two draws at home, against Azerbaijan and Serbia, before winning on the road in Baku, which was their first win in this group. Stephen Kenny’s unit needed six matches to triumph, which tells a lot about how the Republic of Ireland plays right now.

The Irish team prefers to play tough matches with few chances for scoring and few goals. They had seven straight home events with under 2.5 goals before defeating Qatar in the friendly international in October.

Portugal (-330) quickly bounced back following a very disappointing adventure in the recent EURO 2020, where they finished the participation already in the quarterfinals. Selecao was one of the biggest favorites for winning this tournament, but to be honest, they played below the projections.

After that unsuccessful campaign, Portugal posted five wins in a row, not allowing a goal in the last three. Even though the rivals, weren’t that sounding, this stretch of victories has erased all the bad memories, and the Portuguese team is back in the saddle.

A lot of world-class individuals are what separates this team from all the others, as practically anybody in the starting lineup can deliver a goal. Ronaldo might be the leader, but Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and others create the game.

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James Collins isn’t available for the hosts, as he suffered an injury recently.

On the other side, Portugal will have its strongest squad, with one small problem: Bernardo Silva’s muscle injury. He can play, but he is more likely to sit out and wait for the derby against Serbia.

Head to Head Games

Portugal won the last game, 2-1, flipping the result in the injury time. Young Gavin Bazunu was doing wonders in front of the Irish net, stopping all Portugal’s attacks, but he simply didn’t have any luck in the end.

Prediction

Our suggestion here is to bet on Portugal’s win because they simply have too much at stake to allow themselves to slip in Dublin. We are aware that Ireland plays without any pressure, but still, Portugal is our pick here.

Pick: Portugal -330